344 OFTHE CULTURE Partlll. 



" The diredions given by all thofe who have written of the 

 " culture of this plant are very imperfedl* ; for moft of them order 

 " the mixina; of this feed with oats or barley (as is pradlifed for clo- 

 " ver;) but in this way it feldom comes up well j and, if it does, 

 " it will draw up fo weak by growing amongft the corn, as not 

 " to be recovered under a whole year, if ever it can be brought to 

 " its ufual ftrength again. 



♦' Others have direfted it to be fown upon a low rich moft foil ; 

 " which is found to be the worft, next to a clay, of any for this 

 " plant ; in both which the roots will rot in winter, and in a year 

 *' or two the whole crop will be deftroyed. 



" The foil in which this plant is found to fucceed heft in this 

 " country is, a light, dry, loofe, fandy land, which fhould be well 

 " plowed and drelTed, and the roots of all noxious weeds, fuch as 

 " couch grafs, ©'^. deftroyed ; otherwife thefe will over-grow the 

 " plants while young, and prevent their progrefs. 



" The beft time to fow this feed is about the middle of April, 

 *' when the weather is fettled and fair : for if you plow it when the 

 *' ground is very wet, or in a rainy feafon, the feeds will burft and 

 *' come to nothing (as is often the cafe with feveral of the legumi- 

 " nous plants;) therefore jou fliould always obferve to fow it in a 

 *' dry feafon, and if there happens fome rain in about a week or 

 " ten days after it is fown, the plants will foon appear above 

 ** ground. 



** The method I would dlredl for fowing thefe feeds, is as 



" follows. After having well plowed and harrowed the land very 



** fine, you fhould make a drill quite a-crofs the ground almoft half 



" an inch deep, into which the feeds fhould be fcattered very thin : 



" then cover them over a quarter of an inch thick, or fomewhat 



" more, with the earth : then proceed to make another drill, about 



*' afoot and a half from the former, fowing the feeds therein in the 



" fame manner as before, and fo proceed through the whole fpot of 



*' ground, allowing the fame diftance between row and row, and 



♦* fcatter the feeds very thin in the drills. In this manner, an acre 



♦* of land will require about fix pounds of feed : for when it is fown 



«' thicker, if the feeds grows well, the plants will be fo clofe as to 



" fpoil each other in a year or two, the heads of them growing to a 



*' confiderable fize, as will alfo the root, provided they have room. 



^ We flatter ourfelves that M. de Chateau-vieux's directions, and his experiments, 

 will appear in a different light. 



